SAVANNAH, GA:  A Savannah man will spend a decade in prison for attempting to traffic a child for sexual exploitation.

Steven Andrew Ross, 30, of Savannah, was sentenced to 120 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood after pleading guilty to Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Minor, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Ross will be required to serve 10 years of supervised release after completion of his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Child predators continue to pollute the online atmosphere, creating a dangerous environment in what otherwise should be safe access to the information superhighway,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “Our office and our dedicated law enforcement partners continue to be relentless in pursuit of those who would target innocent children for exploitation.”

Ross was charged in Operation Broken Heart, a nationwide Department of Justice operation conducted in April and May of 2019 by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, in which nearly 1,700 suspected online child sex offenders were arrested. Also charged in the Southern District of Georgia was Benjamin Ray, 39, of Honea Path, S.C., who pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Evidence presented at sentencing showed that Ross was communicating online with an undercover agent that he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. While repeatedly confirming the girl’s age, Ross expressed interest in paying the child to have sex, requested photos of the child engaging in sex with others, and sought to produce child pornography with the child. 

“Sex trafficking, enabled by the Internet, continues to be a serious threat facing our nation’s youth and Savannah is not immune from that threat,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners in the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force to unmask these child predators who attempt to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, in conjunction with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tania D.  Groover.

SAVANNAH, GA:  Two Georgia men are among nearly 1,700 arrested for child sex exploitation crimes as part of a nationwide Department of Justice initiative.

Steven Andrew Ross, 29, of Savannah, is charged with Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Minor and Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity for incidents in Camden and Chatham counties, and Benjamin Ray, 38, of Honea Path, S.C., is charged with Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and Felony Offense Involving a Minor Committed by a Registered Sex Offender for incidents in Chatham County, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

The federal charges for which Ray is indicted carry a penalty of 20 years to life in prison, while the charges against Ross carry a penalty of 10 years to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system, and if released, each defendant would be subject to serve supervised release for five years to life.

“As the perception of sexual exploitation of children continues to move from windowless vans in back alleys to Dark Web sites on the Internet, the investigation and prosecution of these vile crimes must continue to evolve,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “We are determined, with our law enforcement partners, to find these criminals wherever they try to hide and protect the innocent from victimization.”

Operation Broken Heart, a nationwide operation conducted during April and May by the Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, led to the arrest of nearly 1,700 suspected online child sex offenders. The task forces identified 308 offenders who either produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, and identified 357 children who suffered recent, ongoing or historical sexual abuse or were exploited in the production of child pornography.

During the course of the operation, the task forces investigated more than 18,500 complaints of technology-facilitated crimes targeting children and delivered more than 2,150 presentations on internet safety to over 201,000 youth and adults.

“The sexual abuse of children is repugnant, and it victimizes the most innocent and vulnerable of all," Attorney General William P. Barr said. “We must bring the full force of the law against sexual predators, and with the help of our Internet Crimes Against Children program, we will. Over the span of just two months, our ICAC task forces investigated more than 18,000 complaints of internet-related abuse and helped arrest 1,700 alleged abusers. I would like to thank our Office of Justice Programs, all of the task force members, and especially the state and local partners who helped us achieve these important results. We are committed to bringing the defendants in these cases to justice and protecting every American child.”

“Sexual exploitation steals the innocence of children, and the criminals who engage in these acts often inflict life-long trauma on their victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan of the Atlanta field office of Homeland Security Investigations. “HSI is committed to investigating child exploitation cases as one of its highest priorities, and we deeply appreciate the efforts of our U.S. Attorney partners to protect children from these terrible crimes.”

The ICAC Program is funded through the Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). For more information, visit the ICAC Task Force webpage at www.icactaskforce.org.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The cases in the Southern District of Georgia are being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, in conjunction with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tania Groover.